The Boston City Council approved more than $15 million in amendments to the mayor’s budget while pushing back on the “narrative” that millions of dollars in reductions it made to police and other departments were “cuts” to city services.
The City Council passed an amended version of Mayor Michelle Wu’s $4.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2025, via a 10-3 vote, on Wednesday, setting a seven-day clock for the mayor to either approve or veto the changes.
While opposing councilors spoke against cuts to departments that provide basic city services — such as police, fire, public works, transportation and the Boston Center for Youth and Families — the majority pointed to a data-driven process that took from big-budget departments that have historically been underspending for other initiatives that benefit residents.
“I reject any notion that we are cutting or creating this narrative in which we are being irresponsible,” City Councilor Julia Mejia said, adding that the the Council is not trying to “cut city services and cause harm,” but rather make investments that she said their constituents have been asking for, including housing.
“At the end of the day, it’s really important for us to flex what little muscle we have, and send a strong message that, as a body, we’re able to organize together to listen to our constituents, and deliver,” she added. “That’s the message that will be sent over to the administration.”
At issue was whether a series of cuts to departments that deliver basic city services would have a direct impact on residents.
The Council made a number of amendments, for example, that would collectively cut what the mayor had recommended for the police department by nearly $3 million, funds that would be reallocated for the body’s priorities around youth jobs, housing, violence intervention and English classes for immigrant parents.
The cuts, whittled down from amendments that initially would have slashed more than $18 million from BPD, were strongly criticized by Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest police union, who called the move “absurdly irresponsible” in the days leading up to the vote.
Councilor Benjamin Weber pushed back on “the narrative that we’re cutting from the police department,” adding that he didn’t think “any of the cuts we made were ideological.”
He pointed to data provided to the Council that showed there were a high number of vacant positions in the department, money that councilors chose to reallocate, an argument that differs from what Calderone has said, which is that BPD needs more funding to hire more officers.
Weber also cited an interdepartmental transfer that would move $1 million from other parts of the police budget to the Boston Police Crime Lab to help with its sexual assault testing kit backlog.
“I think we’re all hoping that teamwork can defeat mavericks,” Weber said.
Other councilors weren’t convinced, however, with John FitzGerald stating that, “on principle,” he couldn’t support a budget that was cutting from certain departments like police, fire and BCYF.
Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy agreed, with Murphy stating she was “truly disappointed in the course we’re charting for the city.”
“To cut from critical departments that provide quality of life services and support to residents is something I don’t support,” Flynn said.
In addition to police, the amendments would reduce what the mayor had recommended for the public works, fire, and transportation departments by $800,000, $734,999 and $600,000, respectively.
The snow and winter management funding would decrease by $250,000 and the Council is seeking to move $570,000 worth of funding from the BCYF community center to youth employment initiatives.
Council Vice President Brian Worrell, who shepherded this year’s budget review process as chair of the Ways and Means committee, pushed back on the criticism, saying that the approved amendments were based on data analysis that looked at where the city has historically overspent over the past six years.
The Council’s amended budget makes $15.3 million in new investments in housing, career and college readiness, quality of life and community safety, Worrell said, while “hailing it as a major step toward creating a more equitable and thriving community for all residents.”
He also noted that departments that saw reductions like police, fire and the BCYF, will still be increasing compared to their bottom-line budgets for fiscal year 2024.
“We used a data-driven process to ensure that the FY25 budget reflects the needs and aspirations of our communities,” Worrell said.
Mayor Wu chose to veto similar, although much higher cuts, the Council tried to make last year to the police, fire, transportation, and public works budget.
Her office said the mayor will be “reviewing the amendments in the next few days.”
If the amendments are rejected by the mayor, the Council would need a two-thirds vote, or nine votes, to override the veto.